Pokémon Red Version is role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments of the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, with the special edition Pocket Monsters Blue being released in Japan later that same year. The games were later released as Pokémon Red and Blue in North America and Australia in 1998 and Europe in 1999.